The terror of space is back in the latest incarnation in the franchise, Alien: Covenant, and its safe to say that the ship is well and truly back on course for the rebirth of the series. Ridley Scott didn’t really cover himself in glory with his last outing Prometheus, but in his sequel to the pseudo prequel he’s recovered all with a film that validates the previous story to such an extent that it’ll be well worth another watch after catching the new release.
The story centres on a ship called the Covenant, which is travelling from Earth to a distant planet called Oriegi-6 with thousands of colonists and human embryos on board in stasis. Things get a bit rocky for them along the way and they end up pulling out of hyperspace to repair damage and from that moment on it’s a finely wrought piece of sci-fi tension wound tighter than we’ve seen in a long time.
Kathrine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them) leads the cast as Daniels with obvious similarities with both Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley and Noomi Rapace’s Elizabeth Shaw. While it’s a well trodden role, she pulls it off without cliché, channelling both of her predecessors, while bringing a new aspect of sweetness that combines well with her determination to survive.
She may take the starring role, but Michael Fassbender (Assassin’s Creed) steals the show for his exceptional contribution to the success of the film. His American accent doesn’t necessarily work all that well, but overall he truly is incredible, driving the story forward with exceptional delivery.
Alien: Covenant trailer:
Billy Crudup (Justice League) also puts in a standout performance as the captain of the Covenant, weaving in real sincerity in the role and helping to bring additional credibility to the film. He also adds a fringe perspective on the creationist direction in the story line, sideswiping a theological slant to counter the megalomania.
The rest of the cast is fairly strong without necessarily shining all that much beyond the leading cast members. However Danny McBride (Your Highness) manages to go way beyond anything else we’ve seen him in before, especially in one scene in particular, which was both emotionally connected and perfectly balanced.
Special effects in Alien: Covenant are slightly mixed. On the ground and close quarters with the alien they are ferociously realistic, but out in the darkness space they can feel a little manufactured. It’s hard to say why that is, but when you compare them to the likes of Passengers the difference is significant.
That aside, Alien: Covenant is an exceptional film, with a lot more surprises tucked up its sleeve than we’d expected. The shower scene is a little surplus to requirements, but Ridley Scott has definitely returned to the top of his game as the director and he’s been given the perfect sequel storyline to work with. It moves the plot along, while also validating Prometheus, which is pretty impressive. Suddenly Aliens are the scariest things at the cinema again and it’s great to have them back!
Alien: Covenant review: 5/5
